The subject invention relates to a pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket of longitudinally extending blanket sections that can be used as a unit or separated by hand intermediate any of its blanket sections to form a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket. More specifically, the subject invention relates to a pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket which can be used to insulate any width cavity up to the width of the insulation blanket with no more than one separation of the insulation blanket at one of the blanket sections and to a method of determining the widths of the blanket sections for such a pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket that will enable the use of fewest number of blanket sections.
A pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket, from which one or more longitudinally extending blanket sections can be selectively separated by hand to form a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket, enables the formation of such a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket without the need to cut the insulation blanket in the field thereby reducing installation time and avoiding potential injuries due to the use of cutting implements in the field. However, to facilitate the rapid insulation of cavities of various non-standard widths, it would be desirable to be able to selectively form a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket to fit essentially any non-standard cavity width with no more than one separation or longitudinal tear of the full width pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket.
If the sizing of a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket to fit a nonstandard width cavity requires multiple separations or longitudinal tears of the full width pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket, there are two adverse results. First, instead of having one relatively large blanket portion remaining after the reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket has been formed, there are two relatively smaller blanket portions remaining. A relatively larger blanket portion can be subsequently used to insulate a relatively large width non-standard cavity or later separated, if needed, to insulate two smaller width non-standard cavities while as a practical matter two smaller width blanket portions can be used only to insulate small width non-standard cavities. Cavity size statistics for homes and similar residential structures indicate that multiple blanket separations would produce more of the smaller blanket portions than there are small cavities to insulate in these structures thereby resulting in scrap and waste. Second, a pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket that can be formed into a reduced width resilient fibrous blanket by separating the full width pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket by hand intermediate blanket sections saves the installer time by eliminating the need to cut a full width resilient fibrous insulation blanket lengthwise, e.g. about 8 feet, in the field by hand. However, if the installer must separate the full width pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket in two places rather than one to form a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket of a desired width, thereby making two tears in the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket rather than one, the time savings associated with the use of the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket over cutting a regular uncut resilient fibrous insulation blanket in the field is reduced.
The subject invention solves the above-discussed problems associated with the sizing of reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blankets formed from full width pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blankets and enables the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket of the subject invention to be used to insulate any size cavity up to the width of the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket with no more than one separation or longitudinal tear of the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket. The pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket of the subject invention includes a plurality of longitudinally extending blanket sections that are formed in the blanket by a plurality of laterally spaced apart cut and separable connector arrangements that hold the insulation blanket together for handling and installation but enable the insulation blanket to be separated at any of the cut and separable connector arrangements to form a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket. In the precut resilient fibrous insulation blanket of the subject invention, the number and widths of the blanket sections together with the lateral compressibility and resilience of the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket or a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket formed from the full width pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket enable the insulation of any width framework cavity up to the width of the full width pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket with no more than one separation or longitudinal tear of the full width pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket.
Standard framework construction for exterior and interior walls in homes and other residential structures locate the nominally 2xc3x974 or 2xc3x976 inch studs on 16 or 24 inch centers. Accordingly, the widths of the standard size wall cavities in home and other residential structures are 14xc2xd inches and 22xc2xd inches respectively. To assure a compressive fit within these standard size wall cavities residential building insulation is made in two nominal widths of 15 inches (the width typically ranges from 15 inches to 15xc2xd inches) and 23 inches (the width typically ranges from 23 inches to 23xc2xd inches). The pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket of the subject invention is primarily intended to insulate cavities having widths from about xc2xe of an inch up to substantially the full width of the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket. Cavities less than about xc2xe of an inch in width are normally insulated in a process called chinking by inserting scrap insulation into the cavities with a screwdriver or similar implement. While a lateral blanket section of the pre-cut resilient insulation blanket of the subject invention could be torn from the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket specifically for insulating such a cavity, normally the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket of the subject invention is used for insulating cavities having widths between xc2xe of an inch and the standard cavity width and the cavities of less than xc2xe of an inch are insulated with scrap.
The subject invention also includes methods for determining the fewest number of and the widths for the blanket sections required to provide a pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket that can be used to insulate cavities having any width up to substantially the full width of the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket with no more than one separation or longitudinal tear of the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket. The methods take into account a selected maximum lateral compression desired for the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket or a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket formed from the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket. Criteria that may be used to identify the nominal maximum desired lateral compression for the full width pre-cut or reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket are the amount of lateral compression that can be sustained by the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket or a reduced width resilient fibrous insulation blanket made from the pre-cut resilient fibrous insulation blanket without appreciably adversely affecting the thermal performance and/or the resilience of the insulation blanket.